All the world

“All the world” sets to music a quote by Helen Keller: “All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming.” The piece is at once both mournful and joyful, anguished and triumphant. A dramatic, dissonant piano opening paves the way for a mournful soloist and choir. A central developmental section turns the melodic motives upside down, and the soloist re-enters to join the choir for a brighter, larger transformation of the musical material of the first section: a celebration of overcoming. Recommended for high school and community ensembles interested in using their voices to depict the contrasts of darkness and light.